Restaurateur sentenced to year in prison
Published on Wednesday Aug 29, 2007

A Chinese restaurant owner accused of hiring illegal immigrants, housing them and driving them to and from work has been sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to pay fines of $100,000.

Jing Fei Jiang will lose his restaurant in suburban Fairfield and the property it's on if he doesn't pay the fines in 30 days, U.S. District Judge S. Arthur Spiegel ordered Tuesday. Jiang, who is not a U.S. citizen, will face deportation after serving his sentence.

The owner of Bee's Buffet was arrested last year. He pleaded guilty in January to harboring an illegal immigrant employee.

His attorney has described Jiang, 37, as a hard-working businessman who spends about 70 hours a week at his restaurant. Jiang has unsuccessfully sought political asylum, claiming he was a pro-democracy protester in China.

Information from: The Cincinnati Enquirer,

http://www.ohio.com/news/ap?articleID=63976&c=y